Ok, I just replaced the hinge pins and bushings on my 86 Grand National. I have fought with it and fought with it trying to get it high enough but I can't get it to go. I have loosened all the bolts, used a jack, got two teenagers from down teh street...but it jsut wont go high enough! The front is about .3-.5 inches too low and the back is just a hair. Is there a trick to doing it? Also, it's tough to get it twisted right (right now the top of the door sticks out from the body a hair and the bottom is in jsut a hair). Is this just a time consuming process? It wasn't half this hard to do my 79 Rx-7's door...just take off the fender and close the door and jsut play with the hinges till they are right!

The heavier and bulkier the door is the more of a fight it can be. You might need to pull the hinges completely off the car along with the door and clean out all the seam sealer in the hinge mounting holes. Sometimes the factory puts so much sealer in these holes that it limits the adjustment-doesn't let the hinge slide as far as needed. Unscrew your door striker and leave that off untill the door is properly aligned. Make sure the hinge holes are clean and install your hinges with only a few bolts snug, hang the door and adjust it all the way up higher than it's needed then move it down, in, and out as needed untill it aligns well with the quarter panel and rocker. When the door is fitting well in the hole then install your striker where it needs to be. These G bodies are known for sagging and dragging doors because the weight just wears the pins and bushings out fast, replace the bushings and pins if needed now while you're in there. Tight pins and bushings, good alignment and regular lubrication are needed to keep things right.

I have seen many times where someone is trying to adjust the doors, and the striker is the problem. Remove the striker and see how the door sits. Once the door is hanging correctly, installing and adjusting the striker is another project. It should allow the door to open and close with little or no resistance. Checking this is done by holding the handle in the open position and operating the door. If adjusted properly, it would not change the position of the door when it is closed.

Keep in mind that there are really 2 different adjustments on the hinges. The bolts that hold them to the pillar are for front to back and up and down. The bolts that go into the door are for in and out, as well as up and down.

If the holes are clean, as mentioned above, there is usually a good amount of adjustment available, depending on the vehicle model of course.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.